Tasmanian devil reaches a milestone moment

By Damien Brown and Tim Walker

The program designed to create an insurance population of Tasmanian devils may have reached a point where the endangered animal can be considered safe from extinction, although the plan to reestablish the wild population in Tasmania has just begun.

A new partnership between the San Diego Zoo, the Zoo and Aquarium Association, the University of Sydney and the Save the Tasmanian Devil Program hopes to better co-ordinate research, insurance populations and reintroducing captive devils back into the wild.

With all of the work that is being done, an expert now believe enough is being to save the Tasmanian devil as a species if the worst was to befall all devil's in the wild in Tasmania.

Chief life sciences officer at The San Siego Zoo, Dr Bob Wiese, believes all of the global efforts to provide a Noah's Ark of devils, along with research into the devastating Devil Facial Tumour Disease, will provide enough of an inssurance for the iconic mammal to be saved.

"We have the Zoo and Aquarian Association with all of their members breeding the devils and knowing the husbandry, we have the scientists from the San Diego Zoo Global, which have reintroduction experience in over 30 different species, and we have had great support from the Tasmanian Government.

Listen to Dr Bob Wiese on ABC Northern Tasmania's Soundcloud account

One of the great things that we've been able to do through the partnership, and having Tasmanian devils at the San Diego Zoo, is to raise awareness that the Tasmanian devil does exist, and that they are in trouble.

I think we are in a place where we are going to be able to save the species: it came down to very low numbers, but it is coming back, we have the insurance population, we have raised awareness, a lot of people are on board, a lot of people are interested, and that is the key - getting people to care."